A letter laced with poisonous substance ricin, sent to US President Barack Obama, has been intercepted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the secret service agency confirmed.
The letter addressed to US President Barack Obama was intercepted by the FBI, before it could reach its destination, the agency said yesterday.
The FBI has now taken a lead into the investigation as similar letters were sent to the New York Mayor, Michele Bloomberg.
"The US Secret Service can confirm that the White House mail screening facility intercepted a letter addressed to the White House that were similar to letters previously addressed to Mayor Bloomberg in New York," Edwin M Donovan, the Secret Service spokesperson said.
"This letter has been turned over to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force for testing and investigation," Donovan told PTI.
Obama is aware of the issue, his spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.
"The White House does have an offsite facility that processes the mail that we receive, so we have precautions that are in place for these kinds of things," he said.
